High School Football Notebook: Rams need a quick, productive start

Spring-Ford quaterback Hank Coyne,11, unfurls a pass over Pennridge defenders during first half action of their playoff contest at Poppy Yoder Field on Saturday November 24,2012. Photo by Mark C Psoras\The Reporter

DOWNINGTOWN — Getting off the ball on offense and getting to the ball on defense, or getting off to a good start, is very important for any team in any game.

It will be imperative for Spring-Ford tonight when it lines up against Coatesville in the District 1-Class AAAA final at Downingtown High School.

The Rams (12-2) used a little bit of both to get by Garnet Valley and Ridley, and just the right mix of both to pummel Pennridge in what has become an unprecedented three-game ride through the postseason thus far.

There’s no question they’ll need a whole lot of both, as well as equally stable special-team play, to slow down or even stall a very fast and very aggressive Coatesville … if they intend on winning their first district title and extending their extraordinary playoff journey into next week’s state semifinals.

Advertisement

It doesn’t quite matter who you talk to, either. Their answers are brief, to the point … simple.

“We have to play our best game to win,” head coach Chad Brubaker said, not hesitating a bit with his response.

Senior offensive tackle Mike Gilmore and center Montana O’Daniell both uttered the same response, so did senior linebacker Kyle Hoffner. And if you’d go up and down the entire Spring-Ford roster, everyone else is likely to say the same thing.

The Rams will need the kind of start they got — and used — to get an upper hand on Garnet Valley, Ridley and Pennridge. They outscored the three 61-25 in the first half, using a balanced offense for the start against Garnet Valley; using a flurry of big defensive plays in the first half against Ridley; and then creating opportunity after opportunity on both sides of the ball to get by Pennridge.

Or just enough to make up for a seven-point deficit (52-45) in the second half of the three games.

“We have to remain focused,” Brubaker said.

Focused as they were in a 21-point burst to open the second half against Garnet Valley; focused as they were by not losing their poise during Ridley’s 26-point, second-half rally; focused as they were after immediately after regaining the lead in the second quarter and never surrendering it against Pennridge.

“Our kids will be ready,” Brubaker said. “They’re aware, as we all are, that nobody is giving us much of a chance (against Coatesville). But they won’t be intimidated.”

•••

The Rams’ offensive statistics in the postseason are close to their 11-game, regular-season norms. They are for points scored (35.3 playoffs to 33.7 regular season); yards rushing (200.7 to 200.9); yards passing (165.0 to 139.6); and total offense (365.7 to 340.5). Their defensive numbers aren’t all that similar — points allowed (25.7 in playoffs to 18.2); yards rushing allowed (182.3 to 159.2); yards passing allowed (220.0 to 95.9); and total yards allowed (402.3 to 255.1) — skewed a bit by the use of non-varsity starters on Thanksgiving eve against a very good Phoenixville offense and defense and, of course, facing considerably better offenses in the playoffs. … The Rams, a plus-six in takeaways during the regular season, are a plus-four in the postseason.

Coatesville has outscored its three postseason opponents — Unionville, Wissahickon and Neshaminy — by a 143-70 spread. Overall, that scoring margin opens up to 501 (38.5) to 191 (14.7), also a bit misleading considering a few lopsided scores, running clocks and backups. The Red Raiders are averaging 202.7 yards rushing, 183.7 yards passing and 386.3 yards overall in their three playoff wins.

•••

Whether it means anything or not, the combined season-ending records of Spring-Ford’s three postseason opponents was 31-6, while Coatesville’s were 25-11.

AROUND THE STATE

Lineup: There are 16 games on the docket for tonight’s and Saturday’s PIAA state quarterfinals, which actually include three district finals — Spring-Ford and Coatesville in District 1, and the Harrisburg-Wilson (AAAA) and West York-Bishop McDevitt (AAA) showdowns in District 3.

Beware: No. 1 ranked and District 7 champion North Allegheny (13-0) goes up against District 10’s McDowell (7-5), which doesn’t look like quite a game. But four of the Trojans’ losses were to out-of-state opponents (all from Ohio — three of which played, and lost, inl last week’s state semifinals). The other loss was to unbeaten crosstown rival Erie Cathedral Prep, ranked No. 1 in Class AAA going into tonight’s quarterfinal against No. 4 West Allegheny (12-1).

Another beware: Allentown Central Catholic finished 4-5 in the Lehigh Valley Interscholastic Athletic Conference (5-5 overall), only winning back-to-back games once this season. But the Vikings have won four in a row now — outscoring the opposition 95-6 in three postseason games — and take on Selinsgrove (10-3) tonight up in Bethlehem.

Hot no more: The Karns City Gremlins were 5-3 at one point this season, and only one of those wins was over a team with a winning record. But they won five in a row to capture the District 9-AA title and earn a spot against No. 1 and seemingly invincible Aliquippa (13-0), which has outscored its opponents 648-49 this year.